Andy was up early for the 30th time this month and a 10km jog along the Bluewater Trail on the estuary coast.

Our original plan for Mackay was to use it as a base to head out to the Whitsunday Islands and check out the beaches. Sadly the weather gods had other plans. Over night it rained constantly for hours, when we woke this morning it was thankfully dry, but cloudy and with the ever present threat of rain. As a result there was no chance of going sailing, so instead we decided to chance our arm with a visit to Eimeo Beach.

Whilst we fortunately avoided any rain, the beach was blustery so we kept to a walk along the sands and had a leisurely hour or so reading on the grassland next to the surf club.

We then decided to chance our arm with a visit to Mackay Harbour beach, which on a normal sunny day would have been perfect for a leisurely swim and beach day.

Whilst the surf club was doing its best to tempt us with fish & chips, along with the nestling turtles on the beach, the wind and the choppy waters meant that our stay on the sands was short.

Back into town for a coffee, we visited The Dispensary, one of the recommended Mackay cafe favourites.

Early afternoon we checked into our latest apartment, at Quest which amusingly is only a few blocks from last night’s stay which we can see from our balcony!

Mackay is blessed with some wonderful Art Deco buildings so we went for a stroll along the Bluewater Trail which took us past the original Police Station and numerous works of art scattered throughout the estuary waterfront.

Once on the Bluewater trail we found ourselves taking in the extensive mural charting the town’s history dating back to its founder, Captain John Mackay arrived in the area in the early 1850’s.

Reaching the town’s outer limits, we were firmly in the greenery and came across The Big Mangrove Cap, an art installation.

To highlight the Bluewater Trail in Mackay six large colourful art pieces were created and installed. The six pieces are crafted by the accomplished artist Fiona Foley, the first piece ‘Crows’ is at the Blue Lagoon, the next ‘Yuwi’ in River Street Park, there are three in Bluewater Quay, the striking ‘Fishbones’ which can easily be seen from the road, ‘Shields’ and ‘Sugar Cubes’ by the side of the heritage listed Leichhardt Tree. The last is a bit further away at the end of River Street in the Sandy Creek Environment Reserve and our favourite, ‘ Mangrove Cap’. The art on Sculpture Trail was really fun to discover.

After a fabulous 6km walk, we found ourselves walking past the art deco of the Town Hall.

After returning to our funky apartment for a coffee and cake, we returned to the centre for the final time and Michelle’s visit to the hairdressers.

Impulsively Michelle decided to get a trim, her first in the last 18 months and choose the amusing salon named For the Love of Hair..!!

As Michelle went for a hair cut, Andy walked a little more along the Bluewater Trail.

Returning to the hairdressing, Michelle was enjoying the experience, once finished we managed to grab a photo with Sarah, to thank her for her efforts.

Tomorrow looks like another wet affair, so no beach and instead we are going to visit Cape Hillsborough, on the Queensland’s Hibiscus Coast, a paradise for nature lovers, offering sunrise moments with kangaroos on the beach and scenic coastal trails. Fingers crossed the rains aren’t too heavy.